Guiding Light
by Wonderland Doll
Summary: Someone has to guide those in the dark back to the light. Livia must help guide Terra to the light. Terra/OC Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts Series or any of the Characters involved.
1. The Last Night

Okay so this is my first story on fanfiction but I have a few on quizilla. If you would please review, so I have some feedback on what you like or what I can improve on. I don't feel like describing everyone's outfit so if you want to know what it looks like look it up. Livia's link will be on my profile. Um…oh yeah character ages, Terra is 18, Aqua and Livia are 17, and Ventus is 16. Enjoy, ^-^!

I stared up at the night sky. The stars blinked brightly at me like they were begging me to come to them. And how I wished I could visit them but master would never allow that and Terra wouldn't let me unless he came with. I sighed at my hopeless dream, closing my eyes. I open my eyes again to see meteors whizzing overhead. Lying back to get a better view of them, with my mid back length brown hair flow behind me. I heard footsteps running towards me. Ventus, or Ven as he like us to call him, races towards me.

"Wow…" he commented softly.

I giggle at him making him look down at me.

"Hey no fair. How is it you always beat me here."

"Ven, I've been here for hours."

Ven lied down next to me with his arms behind his head, "How come?"

I turned to him and stared at his blue eyes with my turquoise ones, "Just to think."

We turned back to the stars with Ventus nodding in understanding. The two of us had always come out here to stare at the stars. It was our favorite pass time.

"Why does this seem so familiar?" I heard him whisper before he drifted off to sleep.

I roll my eyes at my younger friend, continuing to stare at the stars. They were so beautiful. I wonder if there were people on those worlds thinking the same thing as I was. I got up and prepared to leave the sleeping Ventus, when I saw my blue haired friend prepare to scare him. I giggle softly and pointed towards the bench. She nodded before we hid behind the bench as Ven woke up. I leaned around the edge watching as Ven looked around for me. He shrugged lying back down. I turned to tell my partner in crime to move but found her already gone.

"Whoa!" Ventus said shooting straight up.

Us two girls started to giggle. Ven playfully glared at us. "Gimme a break, Aqua, Livia."

"Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead," I told him.

Aqua joined in, "You should have at least brought a blanket."

Ventus looked up, "But—did I dream that place up? It really felt like I'd been there before…looking up at the stars…"

He down casted his eyes while sighing. Aqua pats his head and laughs. "'Cept you've always lived here with us."

"Ya…I know."

Aqua and I moved over to Ventus, Aqua sitting beside them and I stood behind them, my arms behind me. I didn't want to sit my butt was too tired to sit.

"Hey, Livia, Aqua?"

"Hm?" we simultaneously replied.

"Y'ever wonder what stars are? Where light comes from?"

I smiled at his question and at the warm hand that grabbed hold of mine. I glanced back catching the smirk on the hand owner's face.

"Hmm…Well, they say –" Aqua began.

"That every star up there is another world," came a smooth voice from behind all of us.

The two sitting down turned around confused.

"Terra." Aqua stated.

Terra and I moved closer to them before he began to talk, " Yep, hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own. The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns."

Ven looked at him confused.

"What?" he exclaimed, "I don't get it."

"in other words, they're just like you, Ven." I sighed.

Ven stood up and got close to us, "What does THAT mean?"

Terra and I exchanged looks.

'You'll find out someday, I'm sure." He replied.

"I wanna know now."

"You're too young to know now." Terra pointed out as he moved closer to Ven.

Ven got angry, trying to get in Terra's face but unfortunately he was about a foot too short. "Quit treating me like a kid."

I whispered in Aqua's ear and the two of us began to laugh. Terra and Ven looked at us.

"And what are you two laughing at?"

"I can't help it. Livia's right, you two would make the weirdest brothers." Aqua told them between fits of laughter.

Ventus and Terra looked at each other before they joined in on our laughing. A little while late the four of us were sitting at the edge of the cliff, staring at the stars. Terra had his arm wrapped around my waist, keeping me leaning against him. I had my head resting on his shoulder. Occasionally, he would glance down at me and smile before looking back at the other worlds. We were all enjoying our quiet time, when Aqua stood up in surprise.

"Oh yeah," she started, "Terra, you and I have our mark of mastery exams tomorrow."

The rest of us stood up while she reached into her back pocket and pulled out four star-shaped items. "I made us good luck charms."

Aqua threw the orange one to Terra, who caught it. Ventus and I leaned in to get a better look at it.

"Wow." Ven said.

I nodded in agreement, "They turned out great, Aqua."

"Here," Aqua called throwing the green star to Ven and the purple one to me.

"I get one too?" Ven questioned with his giant smile.

Aqua laughed before putting hers in the center of the four of us friends, "Of course. One for each of us."

We each held ours out making a circle of stars.

"Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit….and the fruit represent an unbreakable connection," she began walking away and then turning back to us. "So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to each other."

I smiled, "Technically, I think you're supposed to make them with seashells, but we did the best we could with what we had."

"Wait, you helped make these?" Ven asked.

"Yeps."

"Oy, sometimes you two are such girls."

"Hey what do you mean by 'sometimes'?" I said slightly offended.

Ven looked down at the grass, "So this isn't a real good luck charm?"

We turned to him, "Well, that's yet to be seen. But me and Liv did work a little magic on it."

Ven's face brightened up, "Really? What?"

I help my charm up, "An unbreakable connection."

"Well, tomorrow's the exam. Anybody wanna spar?" Terra asked.

Ven jumped up, "I can take ya!"

Aqua and I stood there and watched the two boys fight. Terra kept going easy on Ven, letting him attack each time.

"Quit going easy on me. You're not gonna win unless you stay on the offensive." Ven yelled.

Terra smirked before quickly finishing the fight. Aqua and I walked over by Ven.

"Well, that works fine if you're fighting one on one." Aqua started.

"But you need to know how to handle a crowd, too," I finished.

Aqua and I teamed up with our shotlocks knocking Terra back. Ven came up after us and tried to slice at Terra, but unlucky for him Terra was ready and blocked.

"Okay, let's wrap this up!" Terra called out.

Terra quickly knocked Ven to the ground and had Aqua on her knees with his free arm wrapped around me holding me still. "It comes with experience."

I rolled my eyes, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. He let me go, rubbing his arm in fake hurt.

Ven got up, "Trust me, you guys are ready. You're gonna clean up at the exams tomorrow"

"I hope it's that easy," Terra replied.

I nodded, "it's like the Master said. Power is born within the heart." I poked Terra in the chest, "When the time is right, you just need to look inside yourself, and you'll find it there."

My three friends nodded.

Terra grabbed my hand, "Hey, we're gonna head back."

"Yeah. Me too!" Ventus answered.

Ven ran to catch up to us as we all walked towards the summit entrance. I looked back to see Aqua watching a shooting star fall while holding her Wayfinder. The wind carried her words towards us, "Together…always." I smiled as we continued to make our way to the castle.

_That would be the last night we ever spent beneath the same stars._


	2. Mark of Mastery

It was the middle of the night when I heard the knock at my door. I glared at it for awaking me from my nice dream. Rolling out of bed, I made my way over to the door. When I opened it I was surprised to see a very sweaty Terra. He was breathing hard leaning up against the door frame.

"Goodness Terra, what have you been doing?" I asked helping him into my room.

Terra lied on my bed, barely breathing out, "Training."

I went to the conjoining bathroom and grabbed a wash cloth. I came back, sitting next to him. Terra was able to get sitting up against my bed rest. I softly wipe the sweat off his face. His breath was still a little ragged but he was calming down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I softly question.

Terra shook his head. He grabbed my hand, pulling me closer so my back was against his chest. I smiled up at him.

"Terra, please tell me."

He sighed, "I'm fine, Livia."

Terra nuzzled my head.

"There is no reason to be nervous," I whispered.

He nodded. Terra grabbed the blanket and pulled it over the two of us. We lied down, beginning to fall asleep. "You'll do great, tomorrow."

Terra looked at me with one eye open, "It would be better if you were taking the test with us."

"How many times do I have to tell you and Aqua? Someone has to train with Ven so he doesn't get bored."

Terra laughed at me before pulling me as close to him as possible. "Sleep, Terra, you need it."

With that we closed our eyes and drifted to a deep sleep.

The next morning, Terra practically dragged me to the throne room. He paused when we came to the door. I kissed his cheek and made my way into the room. I glanced back and saw him blushing, but he shook his head, following after me. Ventus waved me over next to him. I smiled, moving towards him. Terra and Aqua stood before the three thrones, where Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort sat. Ven looked up at Xehanort, and then looked back down slightly scared. I patted his shoulder making him straighten up. Master Eraqus had moved in front of our friends.

"Today you will be examined for the Mark of Master. Not one but two of the Keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates…but this is neither a competition not a battle for supremacy – not a test of wills but a test of heart," He began. "Both of you may prevail, or neither. But I am sure our guest; Master Xehanort… did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospect in years fall short of the Mark. I trust you are ready."

"Yes," the two candidates replied.

"Then let the examination begin."

The master lifted his Keyblade and summoned many light orbs. Terra and Aqua readied themselves for the fight. Suddenly the orbs changed, they were covered in darkness and moved erratically around the room. We were all confused. Terra and Aqua began to hack away at one before one came at me and Ven. The two of us got out our Keyblades and destroyed it.

"Don't worry about us. You two focus on the exam!" Ven yelled.

"But Ven, you're in danger here! Livia take him to wait in your room." Aqua ordered.

I scoffed, "As if, we've been looking forward to this –"

"Seeing you two become Masters," Ven finished. "I'm not going to miss it now."

Terra glanced around making sure none of the orbs came by us, "He can take care of himself. He's been out there training just as hard as us."

"Stay sharp, Ven." I told him.

The four of us moved quickly trying to dispose of the orbs. They just kept appearing; I thought they would never end. Eventually, however, they did disappear as if they were called off. We each moved back to our original spots, while Master Eraqus explained why he let that test continued. Moving on the next trial, Terra and Aqua faced each other battle ready.

"Now, Terra and aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat. Remember, there are no winners only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed." Master stated, "Begin!"

Terra and Aqua began to spar. Terra went after Aqua with heavy hits, but she dodged every one. Aqua attacked and nearly hit Terra, making me gasp, but it missed. Terra held his hand out at his side, and it began to be covered in darkness, Terra notices and quickly suppresses it. Aqua attacked and Terra blocked it. The fight continued much like this, neither of them landing a hit; until the masters called it off. We waited for the masters to make a decision. Finally they came and stood before Aqua and Terra.

"We have deliberated and reached a decision. Terra, Aqua, you both performed commendably. However, only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery," Master Eraqus state so casually.

I was shocked. Terra was just as good as Aqua if not better. He deserved this. I was getting angrier as the master continued, "Terra, you failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check. But, there is always next time. That is all. Aqua, as our newest Keyblade master, you are entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instruction.'

Two of the three masters left, as myself and Ventus made our way over to Terra and Aqua. I placed my hand on Terra's arm trying to find the right words to say to him.

"Terra, I'm sorry." Ven told him.

Terra looked at his hand, "The darkness…where did it come from?"

"Terra –"

"Sorry…but I need some alone time."

And with that he walked off.


	3. Departure

Terra's Point of View

I sat at the bottom of the stairs, thinking about the exam._ There's darkness within me….So what does that matter? I know I'm strong enough to hold it back._

"Yes…"

I jumped up and looked behind me. Master Xehanort was standing at the top of the stairs, staring down at me.

"You are indeed strong." He stated, "The darkness is nothing to fear."

"Master Xehanort…"

The much older master began to walk towards me, "And yet, how frustrating that Eraqus refutes its power. Why, you could train with him forever and still…you'd never be a master in his eyes."

It was true but there had to be something I could do. "But why? Help me understand, Master Xehanort. What is it that I have failed to learn?"

"You are fine as you are. Darkness cannot be destroyed. It can only be channeled," the master told me as he passed.

I nodded, "Yes. Thank you, Master."

Suddenly the warning bells rang out. I looked for the threat but none seemed to appear, so I ran back into the castle. When I got to the throne room, I noticed Aqua and Livia were already there. "What happened?"

"We don't know," Livia said touching my arm slightly.

Aqua turned to us, "Why isn't Ven here?"

I grabbed Livia's hand as she tried to see what the master was talking to, "You okay?"

She nodded; giving me one of her smiles that put everything bad out of my mind.

"Very well then, I will send my pupils to investigate." Master Eraqus said, silence following. "Yes, I understand. Farewell."

The master came out from behind the thrones, and I let go of Livia's hand. "That was my dear old friend Yen Sid. As you know, he is master no more... but he still keeps a close eye on the tides of light and darkness. His counsel serves as signposts on the road we wielders of the Keyblade must walk. All the more reason, then, for concern-for he tells me the princesses of heart are in danger. Not only from the forces of darkness, as you may assume... but also from a new threat-one that feeds on negativity. Fledgling emotions that have taken monster form-Yen Sid calls them the 'Unversed.' As wielders of the Keyblade, you are tasked with striking down any who would upset the balance of light and darkness. The Unversed are no exception. I tried to pass this news on to Master Xehanort, but my repeated attempts to reach him have failed. I doubt there is any connection, and yet... This all troubles me."

"Master Xehanort is gone?" I asked to myself. Livia's eyes wandered over to me.

"So here we are. I need you three to get this situation under control," Master Eraqus explained, "Eliminate the Unversed, and find Master Xehanort. I have unlocked the Lanes Between. You may use these forbidden pathways to travel between this world and countless others. The darkness looms closer than usual within these spaces, but your armor will protect you. Lastly, remember that order must be kept. You cannot tell anyone there are other worlds. Now go, and fulfill your duty."

"Yes, Master." we all responded.

Livia and I began to leave, when the master called my name. Livia stopped turning her head. I turned around to face him once more.

"Consider this an opportunity." He began, "A second chance for you to change my mind."

"What?" Livia questioned for me.

Master Eraqus made his way to me, "You must know, I care for you like my own son. If I could have my way, I would name you master in a second."

"So why don't –"

"But, how can I, when you are so obsessed with power?" the master glared at Liv. "Terra. You mustn't be afraid of losing. Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness."

He placed his hand on my shoulder, "You must never forget."

I bowed slightly, "Thank you, Master. I swear… I will not fail you again."

I turned and left, with Livia not far behind me. Livia grabbed a hold of me when we made it out to the courtyard. I smiled back at her; she didn't need to say anything. I knew she was sorry about how the exams played out. Livia put a hand on my cheek, bring me into a kiss. It was sweet and simple. I snaked my arm around her waist, letting our kiss last a few seconds longer. We pulled back at the same time, a soft smile across her lips. I smirked at her as we continued on our way to the bottom of the stairs.

"Terra! Livia!"

"Huh?" I turned around right as Ventus got to us."

"I…I…I…" he tried to breathe out.

I patted the top of his head, "It's okay." I nodded at him. Livia made me turn back to the cliffside view. We simultaneously hit the guards on our shoulder, transforming into our armor. Livia called upon her Keyblade, Oathkeeper, to beckon a portal to the Lanes Between. I summoned Earthshaker tossed it into the air causing it to transform into the Keyblade Glider. The two of us jumped unto the glider. We circled our friend once before shooting straight up towards the portal. We had begun our adventure.


	4. Enchanted Dominion

Livia's Point of View

Terra and I passed through a blinding white light to get to the Lanes Between. Then all there was was darkness. But in the distance was a shining star. I tapped Terra's shoulder and pointed to the star. Nodding, he drove the glider towards it. It was another world. Terra nosed dived through its atmosphere, and landed us at a lakeside.

We walked out of the portal, our armor disbanding in a brilliant light. I stared out at the lake, it was so serene. Terra quickly turned around Keyblade at the ready. Looking over at him, I saw this little jittery blue thing.

"Monsters? The ones the Master mentioned – these are the Unversed." Terra commented.

I summoned Oathkeeper as more appear. The two of us fought off the little blue Unversed. But as soon as those were gone, these floating red ones took their place. The red ones didn't take us long, however, a large blue one showed up. It was huge, not tall but fat, larger than three Terras. It had a shock wave that knocked us back. I jumped over its second shock wave and cut it in half. I heard Terra still fighting. Glancing over, there were still more Unversed.

"You have got to be kidding me." I screamed slashing at the nearest one, "Will it ever end?"

Terra laughed as we continued to fight. After defeating a few more Unversed, they finally stopped coming. I fell back onto the grass. _Finally, thought they would never end._ I sighed before hearing that stupid jittering. I tilted my head back, and stared at the little Unversed. It skittered through the trees and out of sight.

"No you don't," Terra called running after it.

"Terra!" I yelled.

I sighed, got back up and ran after him. I was going to have to run a lot faster if I was going to catch him. He was already heading into a third area while was just entering the second one. I cursed, and picked up my speed. I got to the bridge just a Terra destroyed the unversed. He was staring at the large castle before us. Walking over to him, I stared at it too.

"It's so big." I told him

He smirked, "A lot bigger than the one at home."

I giggled, letting my eyes drift from the top to the bottom. There stood a woman, she was tall and wore a black robe. I nudged Terra and tilted my head at her. She must have heard us walking towards her, for she turned to face us.

"What's this…why aren't you asleep, children?" she questioned, "That fool Flora cast a spell to put everyone in this castle into a deep, deep slumber."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Why, I am Maleficent…as all who dwell in this kingdom would know. Now you must reciprocate the introduction. Who are you?"

"I'm Terra, and this is Livia," he gestured to me, I waved, "What do yu know about those monsters – the ones who attacked us?"

Maleficent walked over to the edge of the bridge, "Hmph. Now why would I give a thought to creatures so base…so inconsequential?"

Terra scoffed with a smirk, "They are base, that's for sure."

I giggled, laying a hand on Terra's arm. "We're looking for someone. Ever heard of a man named Xehanort?"

"That name is not familiar to me. Is he an outsider, like yourselves?" She twisted towards us, " Oh, but wait…I do remember someone leaving the castle."

"Tell me – what was he doing there?" Terra asked excited that we may have found news on our lost master already.

"I couldn't say…I can only be certain he was not from this kingdom." Terra's face fell, I grabbed a hold of his hand. He looked at me, trying to put an unhurt smile on his face but it didn't work. I squeezed his hand. "If you're curious, go see the castle for yourselves. The entrance is past the bridge."

I thanked her, and we took off towards the castle.

"Perhaps he did speak, about imprisoning 'the light'…" Terra pulled me to a stop, "'The light' could be so many things. Could he have meant Princess Aurora?"

Terra went back to running towards the castle, while I watched as Maleficent disappeared in a green flame. My friend called for me. I looked and saw him fighting Unversed. I ran over to him and helped fight them off. There weren't as many as I feared there might be on the bridge. We entered the castle's throne room. I was shocked to find no one there.

"Where is everyone?" I asked really to no one.

Terra glanced back at me, "She said they were all asleep."

"Ya but shouldn't we see someone. I mean, if there is a princess here, where are the guards?"

Terra opened his mouth to reply but shut it. I searched the room and found two doors at the bottom of a winding stair case. Each door was looked however. I started up the stairs with Terra not far behind. The two of us walked through the halls, killing all the Unversed we came across. We made it to a door covered in darkness. Terra used Earthshaker to get rid of the darkness, allowing us into the room. Inside laid a beautiful girl, which I assumed to be Princess Aurora. Terra went over to her.

"This feels so familiar." He muttered.

"Her heart is filled with light – not the slightest touch of darkness. Just the kind of heart I need." Came Maleficent's voice.

I turned and glared at her, "For what?"

"Imagine with me, the most glorious of futures… Eight of the purest hearts, each overflowing with light. When brought together, they grant the power to rule all worlds."

"What do you mean?" Terra questioned.

"Why, that key you hold… The Keyblade, is it called?"

We both summoned our Keyblades. "Where did you learn that name?"

"That trinket is the only way to obtain the hearts."

"No more games," I growled, "Where is Master Xehanort?"

"Impudence will get you nowhere, child." She snarled, "If you wish to learn more, you must retrieve the heart of Aurora"

"And why would I ever want to do that?" Terra asked her.

"It's not a matter of 'why,' but of will." She started to twirl her hand around her staff creating a green glow. "In your heart, there is darkness just waiting to be awakened."

Terra clutched his chest in pain. "I…don't know what …you're talking about."

Terra was breathing hard. I grabbed hold of him, helping him to stay standing.

"Perhaps not yet…but I have power over sleep. And I can awaken what's inside you…then you will be free to be who you truly are."

Terra's pain seemed to grown with each word Maleficent said.

"Terra, don't give in. You're stronger than that."

Terra blacked out, slumping over. He would have landing on the floor had I not been holding him. Terra lifted his head, and I saw his blue eyes glazed over. He moved towards Aurora. My eyes widened. I stood in his way.

"Terra, stop." He kept walking towards her." You can fight this, please."

He used his arm and pushed me out of his way. I flew, hitting the wall, crying out in pain. Looking up at him, Earthshaker was over the princess. A radiant light lit the room as Aurora's heart was taken from her body. It floated over to Maleficent.

"To think that all he spoke of was and will be true," Maleficent said.

Terra held his head in his hands, "What? How did I—"he looked over at me. "What did I do? What did YOU do?"

He turned to the evil woman, "You speak as if I pulled some invisible strings. No, you couldn't be further from the truth, child. I simply whispered to the darkness you already held inside."

"How could I do this?" he muttered questioningly. "Ven?"

I looked at him confused, while Maleficent continued to talk, "Yes...Now, you want to know where Xehanort went. Well, that I cannot answer. He disappeared into the darkness. But now I know the Keyblade is necessary to gather hearts." She walked closer to him. "Join me. Collect seven more hearts of pure light. Then we will rule all the worlds together."

I tried to get up but the pain was killer. Terra looked at me sadly, "You seem to be mixed up, I'm a peacekeeper, not a tyrant!" He brought out Earthshaker again. The castle shook a little.

"Hmm. For a peacekeeper, you're off to an exceptionally poor start. Remember this – the darkness in your heart cannot be held back by force or strength. Now…my work here is done, as is yours. Wasn't there someone you needed to chase?" She started to laugh manically and disappeared in a green flame.

Terra tried to attack her but she was already gone. Her laughter still rang through as the castle shook once more. I groaned at the sudden movement, causing Terra to run to my side. He checked my side, making me wince.

"The Unversed…They're going to shake down the castle. Go…I'll be here when you get back." I whimpered.

He nodded, before running through the door. While he was gone I worked on being able to move. I get to where I'm moving around the room. The shaking got worse and worse. I had to sit at the edge of Aurora's bed to keep from falling. The suddenly the shaking stopped. Soon, Terra came back in. He kneeled down in front of me.

"I'm sorry." He whispered softly to me not looking me in the eye.

I tilted his head up, "It wasn't you. She did something to you."

He looked at me with sad eyes. I smiled softly, giving him a quick kiss. Terra smiled but then looked over to the princess. "It's my fault her light was stolen. It was because I was weak."

"We'll get it back; somehow, someway we'll save her."

Terra nodded. The two of us got up and made our way out of the castle. _Why would Master Xehanort imprison the light? The purest hearts of light – do they hold the answer? _We ran back to the lakeside where we took off to our next world.


	5. Dwarf Woodland

I could tell Terra was very upset about what happened at the last world. I gave him a squeeze as we glided off to the next world. He looked back at me, not being able to see his eyes due to the armor. Terra turned back to the Lanes, but took his hand off one of the handles and grabbed hold of mine. I laid my head against his back.

When we landed it was in the yet another castle. We wandered around until we heard a voice. We crept over to where we could see what was going on. A woman, wearing a crown, stood in front of a large mirror.

"Spirit of the Mirror – come from the farthest space. Through wind and darkness I summon thee…Speak! Show me thy face." She said.

"What wouldst thou know, my Queen?" the mirror spoke. I jumped, there was no way. It was an inanimate object, they can't talk. Terra put his hand over my mouth and shushed me.

The queen continued asking the mirror who was the fairest one of all. She was angered to find that there was someone more beautiful than she.

"Alas for her! Reveal her name." the Queen ordered.

"Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow –"

"Snow White!"

Terra looked at me, "A mirror that knows and sees everything… how about that."

I shrugged due to the hand against my mouth. The mirror began to speak again, "The heart of Snow White doth shine bright. Beware, my Queen, a heart of light."

My friend became thoughtful, moving his hand. "Another one?"

"Terra, wait. What if Master Xehanort is here?" I asked.

"Who goes there?"

We came out from our hiding spot, "I'm Livia, and this is Terra."

"We're looking for a man named Xehanort…Master Xehanort. I thought maybe you might have seen him."

"That name is of no consequence to me." She says. Terra sighed and turned to leave. "Wait…I have a task for you. If you succeed, I will ask the Mirror where you might find this Master Xehanort."

"And the mirror will know?" I asked skeptically.

"Do you dare question me?" she threatened.

"What is the task?" Terra asked.

The queen laughed, "There is a young maid who resides in this castle. Her name is Snow White. Kill her. And to make sure you do not fail, bring back her heart … in this." She handed Terra a box with a dagger in a heart as its lock.

"Terra don't do this…" I whispered.

"Her heart?" he asked completely ignoring me, "I don't understand. You're after the hearts of light, too?"

The queen got a little too close to Terra for my liking, "What I demand is her life. I have had more than enough of her light."

"But what did this maiden do to you?" I asked angered at both of them.

"That is no concern of yours. Now, heed my words. My radiance is all the light this kingdom needs." She said vainly.

"Where can I find her?" Terra questioned.

"Terra?"

The queen smirked, "Outside the castle, there is a glade of wildflowers. You are dismissed. Go no and seek her there."

I glared at him as he stood there staring at that stupid box. I shook my head and left. Terra followed.

"Livia wait up." He called to me. I ignored him as he had done me. "Livia, c'mon. Please?"

I whipped around to face him, "Give me one reason why I should. Have you even thought about the consequences of what you just agreed to do? You plan on killing a girl because that witch of a queen is jealous of her."

Terra looked at me with hurt eyes, "This is our best chance right now of finding Xehanort. I don't plan on killing her, Liv. I won't let what happened to Aurora happen to her."

"I hope you're right, Terra."

He pulled me into him, holding me tight. I placed my hands his shoulders and pulled him even closer. _I'll do whatever it takes to keep him from falling into the darkness. I promise you that Terra._ I pulled back to get a good luck at his face. Stroking his cheek, he smiled down at me.

We let go of each other and began to work our way through the labyrinth that is this castle. We finally found of our way out to the courtyard. The sun was shining high in the air, and everything smelled of spring. Terra and I walked to through the gates that lead to the glade. We followed the dirt path through the forest. Several little woodland creatures came out to play with us…well they seemed to like me more than Terra but that really didn't matter. Terra held his arm to stop me from going any farther.

"Do you think that's her." He asked.

I nodded, while the young girl continued to hum to herself. She had a large bouquet of wildflowers in her arms. She looked rather happy when she saw us.

"Oh, hello. Who are you?" she asked in a high squeaky voice.

"Aren't you startled?" Terra asked confused.

She placed her flowers on the ground before facing us, "Should I be?"

_This must be her, she just so nice and sweet._

"Is something the matter?"

"Does the name Xehanort mean anything to you?" I asked her sweetly.

"Why…why, no. I don't think I've ever heard that name." she replied slightly sad that she couldn't help us.

"Well now what?"

One of those little blue Unversed appeared behind Snow White. Terra and I summoned our Keyblades, causing the young girl to scream and run towards the woods. Terra tried to call out and run out after her. The Unversed, however, stood in his way. He growled at them before slashing his way through the hoard. We hacked and smashed each Unversed that appeared. There were new Unversed that reminded me a little of bunny rabbit appeared to us. I kind of stared at when it came hopping at me. I bopped it in the head and it disappeared. _Weird little bunny Unversed._

"Great, we lost her." I sighed.

"She said she doesn't know anything about Master Xehanort."

"Well that leaves us with one option."

Terra nodded to me, and we left the glade. I took the lead from Terra, running through the castle. When we go to the mirror room, the queen was furious with us.

"How dare you return here, you blundering fool." She said with her back towards us.

"What are you talking about?"

"I ordered you to bring me Snow White's heart!"

Terra calmly answered her, "A request I chose to Ignore." He looked over at me, "You know, you clain to be radiant, but all I see are shadows of jealousy, hanging think on your heart."

The queen then ordered the mirror to consume us once and for all. However, the mirror told her it could do no such thing. In a fit of rage she threw a potion bottle at the mirror causing it to shake and quiver. Another luminous light appeared and transported Terra and myself inside the mirror. The mirror was tricky to defeat. It would seep into the ground and would make clones of itself. Terra and I were back to back while the clones circled around us.

"Hey, Terra?"

"Ya?"

"Why is one of them smiling at us?"

He chuckled before grabbing my free arm and slung me towards the smiling mirror face. I swung Oathkeeper down hard, hitting it dead on. This continued to go on until finally the mirror face threw us out of the mirror.

"How did you escape?" the queen snarled.

"That is no concern of yours." I retorted.

She glared harshly at me. Terra smirked, "Now will you ask the mirror. Where can I find Master Xehanort?"

"Magic Mirror, instruct these knaves! Give them the answers they doth crave."

The mirror stared at us, "Beyond both light and dark he dwells, where war was waged upon the fells."

I crossed my arms in deep thought as Terra asked if that was all. The mirror was silent.

"Thanks. You've been a big help" Terra grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the courtyard. There he opened the portal to the Lanes Between. I tried to hit my armor button but Terra was still holding my hand. I looked at him.

"Terra? What's wrong?"

Terra was looking down at his free hand, which wasn't so free at the moment. In his hand was a flower. He held it up and tucked it into my hair tie. I smiled.

"You were right. I'm sorry." He whispered.

"You don't have to apologize to me. Terra, you were able to hold the darkness at bay in this world."

Terra looked me in the eye, before kissing me. I was surprised; because every other time we had kissed I was the one who kissed him. I kissed him back closing my eyes. We pulled back both of us smiling. Terra kissed me once more before guiding me towards the portal.


	6. Castle of Dreams

It was nighttime when we got to the next world. We stepped out of the Lanes in a fairly wooded area, with a fountain. There was a bench with a young woman, with a ripped and torn dress, crying onto it. I ran over t her.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"It's just that my friends made me the most beautiful dress – but my stepmother and stepsisters ruined it. And I was so looking forward to the ball," the young woman said as she continued to cry.

I looked at her so sadly. Why would anyone do that to this seemingly nice woman? Terra kneeled down beside us.

"Darkness always finds a way into a wounded heart. You have to be strong," he said trying to comfort her. "Strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials."

The woman cried, "But I…"

I turned towards the fountain. There were several Unversed popping up.

"Hey Terra, we've got company."

He looked at me and summoned his Keyblade when he saw the Unversed. He used his head to gesture for me to guard the woman. I nodded, not very happy about it. He thinks just because he's the man he has to protect me and give me the easy jobs.

_A ten year old Livia threw her toy Keyblade at the ground. She was mad at the eleven year old Terra for making her play the damsel in distress for the millionth time. _

"_Terra, why do I always have to play the girl in trouble?" Livia yelled out._

_Terra sighed and slumped over, "We've been over this, Liv. You're the youngest which means you have to play like you're in trouble."_

"_She's only younger than me by two months, Terra." Aqua chimed in._

"_Ya and why can't Aqua protect me or one of protect you." She complained. "Besides, I'm not getting in training from this."_

_Terra crossed his arms thoughtfully. Aqua and Livia walked towards each other and smirked._

"_Fine, I'll protect Aqua this time. And if you beat me, then we'll switch things up from now on."_

_Livia jumped for joy and ran back to grab her Keyblade. She got in the fighting position. Terra got in his stance. He attacked her first and she blocked. The fight went on for a good couple of hours. It ended with Livia sitting on Terra's chest, his Keyblade on the other side of the area._

"_I win." Livia called out._

"_Ya, ya, now will you get off of me." Terra asked._

_Livia got up and held out her hand out to help her friend up. Aqua applauded her friend's hard work. _

"_Alright, so tomorrow, we'll set up a new set." Terra said._

_Livia looked up at the sky and fell backwards, "Oww."_

_Her two friends laughed at her, before lying down beside her. The three of them kept their eyes on the stars. After a little while, Aqua got up and headed to her room. Terra and Livia stayed out under the lights of the other worlds. It slowly got colder, so Livia snuggled closer to Terra. He looked down at her blushing._

"_You don't need to always protect me, Terra."_

"_I know, but… I don't want you to get hurt and since I'm your friend, it's my job to keep you safe."_

_Livia flipped over to her stomach and kissed his cheek. The darkness hid his darkening blush. "So since I'm your friend you're going to have to let me protect you sometimes."_

By the time, my flashback had finished the Unversed were gone and a mist was covering the area. I walked over to Terra.

"Strength of heart is important, but that's not all you need." Came a sweet voice.

"There's nothing left to believe in…" the woman wept, "Nothing."

The mist moves to the woman before us, "Nothing, my dear? Oh, now, you don't really mean that."

The mist took form in a elderly old woman in a blue cloak.

"Oh but I do. It's just no use."

"Nonsense! If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here and here I am," she helped the younger woman up, "Oh, come now, and dry those tears. You can't go to the ball looking like that."

The young woman stood back, "The ball? Oh, but I'm not—"

"Of course you are. But we'll have to hurry. Now, what were those magic words? Oh yes…" the elderly walked towards the fountain. "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-boo"

The words seemed to echo through the clearing. The magic from the woman's wand flew to a pumpkin making it grow and roll over to her. She waved her wand some more and the pumpkin glowed. It grew larger and larger until it turned into a horse drawn carriage. The young woman and myself walked over to the carriage in awe. Terra followed pretty impressed. The elderly woman used her wand to change the younger ones dress into a beautiful ball gown. I was awestruck.

"It's so beautiful." I told her.

Terra came up behind me as the woman ran to the fountain to get a better look at the dress.

"Why...it's like a dream come true."

"Yes, but like all dreams… I'm afraid this can't last forever. You'll have only till midnight, and then, on the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before." The older woman explained.

"I understand," the younger said hugging the one that caused all her dreams to come true, before riding away in the carriage.

The three of us stood in a straight row.

"Her heart was full of light, why didn't we see it?" I wondered aloud.

Terra leaned around me to ask the elder woman, "What did you do? I can hardly tell she's the same person."

"Who are you?" she asked oblivious to that we had been there the whole time.

"Terra, Livia."

"Terra, Livia, in your hearts, do you believe that dreams can come true?"

I nodded while Terra replied, "I do, but I also believe you have to make an effort to make them come true."

"Yes, of course. But sometimes just believing in dreams is easier said than done. Cinderella believes her dreams can come true. I wanted her to see that she is right."

"So that's what made her shine – faith in her heart that anything is possible." I chimed.

"Where did she go?" Terra asked her.

"To the royal ball at the palace. Go. And when you see her dancing… you'll know that she believes, and that will help you to believe, too."

I thanked the old woman and turned to leave. When we got to the stairs Cinderella was surrounded by Unversed. Terra and I quickly dispersed of them in a single combo.

"Oh, I've met you before…"

"We'll take care of them. You wait right here." Terra warned.

"Please, may I go with you? I so want to get to the ball."

"Uh…All right. But stay behind us, or you'll get hurt." Terra told her. "You're not worried."

"Didn't you tell her it was important to stay strong, Terra?"

He chuckled, "I guess I did."

We laughed, "Ready?"

"Yes." she replied.

We lead Cinderella through the castle halls. Unversed were coming from every which direction, trying to get to the young woman. The three of us finally made it to the ballroom. Cinderella thanked the two of us. Terra bowed and I curtsied as she did the same. When she went over the prince, they bowed and began to dance.

"Such a gentleman." I whispered jokingly to him.

He laughed, "Maybe just believing is enough."

We listened in on the family near us. So much jealousy cover these other worlds. Terra stiffened. I turned to ask him what was the matter but he was already talking to the man beside him.

"Well, there is a passage beneath the foyer staircase."

"Thanks," Terra replied before running off.

I sighed and followed after him. I followed Terra all the way back to the ballroom but now we were in the balcony. Before us was a large Unversed that controlled several musical instruments. He used the music to make cause a large explosion in our area. Luckily we were able to jump out of the way in time. Behind us, the man Terra talked to earlier was calling the guards.

"We'll take care of this." I told them.

They quickly left the room. Each of us took out an instrument a piece. Then we took out the only one left. The unversed was floating to high for us to reach. I looked at Terra and he nodded. We decided to try out our new combo. I back flipped onto Terra's Keyblade. He then threw it back and launched me upward. This allowed me to reach the Unversed, taking its head off. The group came back in.

"Thank you. You saved us all." The man sighed, "The guests were just starting to enjoy themselves…"

"Well don't give up just yet," I said looking over at the prince and Cinderella.

Terra and the man turned to look at the two. They were standing over there and talking. They looked so happy. Terra got back down to business.

"Tell me something. Have you always had a problem around here with those monsters?" Terra asked.

The man shook his head, "No. I believe… they began to appear shortly after a boy in a mask arrived in our Kingdom. Those that saw him said the monsters obeyed his every command."

"A boy in a mask?" I mutter then aloud asked, "Do you know where he is now?"

"Well…no, I don't believe anyone has seen him since then."

Terra grabbed a hold of his chin with on hand and the other rested on his waist. "I see."

The clock started to strike twelve. Cinderella ran off, not listening to the Prince's pleas. The three of us follow her as she runs away. Myself and Terra stood on the top of the staircase. I looked as she ran past a girl with blue hair…Aqua.

"Aqua!" I screamed.

She looked up, "Livia! Terra!"

I flipped over the stair rail, and ran down to her. Terra followed me by way of stairs.

"Terra…Ven ran away from home." She told us.

"What?" I exclaimed, "Why would he do that?"

"I think he left to go find you. Do you have any idea why?" she asked us.

"No…Actually…just before I left, he tried to tell me something. I should have listened to what he had to say." Terra said walking away from us, not looking at us.

I grabbed his shoulder, "You didn't know, Terra."

"Oh…so….did you manage to locate Master Xehanort?"

I shook my head, "No, but it seems he's looking for pure hearts filled with light."

"Pure hearts…filled with light…" she questioned.

"All I can tell you is that his search hasn't taken him here."

Aqua nodded, "All right. I'll stay and see if I can find more clues."

"M'kay, the Prince is in the ballroom ahead. He might have some answers." I told her.

"Thanks," she replied walking past us.

"Aqua, you still have the same dream?" Terra asked.

She turned, "Well…Yes."

"There's this girl here-her name is Cinderella. She made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem...a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness." Terra told her. "If you see her, give her my thanks."

Aqua nodded, "Will do."

I smiled and waved good bye to our friend, as we left the castle. _The boy in the mask who was leading the Unversed... Who is he? Does he have anything to do with Master Xehanort's disappearance? Master Eraqus said he first received word of these events from Master Yen Sid. Maybe it's time we went and spoke with him ourselves._

"Hey Terra?"

"Ya babe."

I stood there shocked at the new nickname.

"Liv…Livia…?"

I shook my head, "I think we should visit Yen Sid."

"I agree."

We activated our armor and stepped into the Lanes, flying off to the next world.


	7. Mysterious Tower

Sorry it took me so long to post. I have no internet at home and school has been canceled the past week. Enjoy

As Terra and I got to the mysterious world, where we assumed Yen Sid lived, a small mouse came out of the tower. He wielded a dark blue Keyblade with embellishments of stars and moons. The mouse took out a strange star shaped object, said Alakazam; and was shot from the world. I tilted my head to the side as this all happened. Terra wasn't phased however. The two of searched around the area making sure it was safe. A number of Unversed appeared before us and we quickly took them out.

I looked over at Terra, who seemed to be having trouble standing up. I wrapped my arm around his waist and helped him towards the doors of the large tower before us. _All this traveling must be taking a toll on him. We should find a place to rest soon._ He smiled at me before having to act like the big strong man and moved away, not showing his exhaustion. I sighed but followed Terra into the tower and up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs was a door that lead us to a room with large star and moon shaped windows. Standing in front of those windows was a elderly man. Beside me, Terra straightened and addressed the master. Yen Sid turned towards us.

"My name is Terra," my friends introduced, "and this is Livia."

"It is an honor to meet you, sir." I replied.

"Yes. Eraqus's pupils." The master moved towards his desk. "I've been expecting you. It is the Unversed."

I nodded, "Yes, Master, We thought it best to seek the counsel of one wiser than ourselves."

Yen Sid looked harshly at us stating he was no longer a master.

"But sir wasn't that your pupil we passed on the way in?" Terra questioned.

"You refer to Mickey. He, too, sought guidance here. As a king, he is good and kind. But the weight of a crown has not cured him of impetuousness. He left with an object whose power he does not understand nor know how to control. Mickey imagines my Star Shard will be of help in his current quest. And, like you, he is eager to use his Keyblade to set things right." He retorted.

Terra hung his head, "I'm not even sure what's wrong."

I grabbed hold of his hand, "Master Xehanort is missing…and now we've just learned there's a masked boy who is controlling the loose Unversed."

Yen Sid then told us to think that maybe Master Xehanort was connected to the Unversed, and that the best thing for us to do would be to find him. We nodded before leaving the old master to his thoughts. Terra and I were once again lost with no lead to go on. I rested my armored head on his armored back. Suddenly the glider jolted and we speed past many worlds.

"Terra, where are we going?" I asked.

"Master Xehanort wants me to find him."

I looked at him confused not that he could tell because of the helmet, "When did he say this?"

"You didn't hear him." I shook my head. "He told me to come see him. Trust me"

"I do trust you." I replied laying my head back onto his back.

When we arrived at the world, I noticed how barren it was. We circled around until Terra spotted the Master waiting for us. Terra landed us near him, releasing our armor and his glider.

"I have been to other worlds. I know all about the things you've done. I just don't understand why." Terra told him.

The master looked down at the barren ground, "Someone had to safeguard the light…from the demon I unleashed. You must know about the boy by now, the one in the mask." Xehanort looked off towards the desert below us. "His name is Vanitas, a creature of pure darkness. One of my making."

"You mean he came from you?" I asked.

He shook his head, "He came from Ventus."

"Ven?" Terra questioned.

"Yes. Vanitas is the darkness that was inside your friends." Terra and I gasped. "It was an accident. While training with me, Ventus succumbed to darkness, and there was but one way to save him-strip that part of him away. And thus Vanitas was made. In the process, I damaged Ventus's heart in the most horrific way. So I did what I felt was right, and left him with Eraqus. I knew the boy could not stay with me, the man who did him such grievous harm."

There seemed to be something off about his story, but I kept quiet. Terra told him that he shouldn't blame himself for what happened. The story did explain a few things though.

_Terra, Aqua and Livia trained at the top of the main foyer of the castle. They all stopped when they heard the doors open. Livia ran over to the railing to get a better look at the older man and the young boy that had entered their domain. Master Eraqus lead the older man away leaving the poor boy by himself._

"_Is the boy okay?" Aqua asked._

_Livia looked down at him, "I'll go check." She backed up before running towards the ledge and flipping over it. _

_The young boy looked at her shocked and Terra followed her down but he used the stairs. The boy's face quickly went back to the way it was before. Livia got in his face bending down to his height._

"_I'm Livia, and this is my friend Terra. What's your name?"_

"_Ventus," he sighed out._

"_Oh good you can talk. Aqua, c'mere."_

_Aqua smiled and ran down the stairs. She introduced herself. Terra then started to ask him all these questions. Livia tried to stop him but the screaming of the young newcomer did that for her. Ventus fell to his knees._

_Livia went up to him and tried to calm him down. The masters then came back into the room asking what had happened. Master Eraqus explained to us that Ventus didn't have a memory._

"So why is Vanitas still free?" I asked.

"Well I did my best to contain him the moment he emerged, but…" Xehanort began.

"He managed to escape." Terra finished.

I scoffed at the thought. A Keyblade master should be able to take down this creature.

"Vanitas uses the Keyblade to sow seeds of darkness. And now, you – the worlds teem with his ghastly underlings," Xehanort stated. "He has no control over the darkness in his heart. The Keyblade is not his to bear. He is an abomination beyond hope of salvation. Lend me your strength, Terra. Right the wrong I have wrought."

Terra became thoughtful, "But I don't know where to find him."

"What I can tell you about Vanitas amounts to this – his darkness is drawn to the light, which he seeks to disrupt…and then destroy. It stands to reason that he will strike next in the city of light, Radiant Garden." He told him.

I really didn't like being ignored by the two of them. Something was defiantly wrong. I was going to have to find out what is. For now, I would follow Terra, and help him end the life of this darkness filled boy.


	8. Radiant Garden

I'm going to make this into two separate days. I feel like there needs to be a time where they can rest and sleep so the characters aren't just running constantly. I'm also working on an Axel/OC/Lea story and you will meet the OC in this chapter.

I didn't dare tell Terra about my speculation concerning Xehanort. He seemed so caught up with everything he said, I didn't want to risk making him mad at me. We entered Radiant Garden in a large court yard. It was strangely empty for such a pretty day.

I looked behind me, "Just great another world with a castle. I'm starting to get the feeling that all worlds have some kind of castle." Terra laughed at my accusation. I took a few steps towards the center of the area, dragging Terra with me, before we were stopped by the sound of Unversed appearing.

"Damn, do these guys ever take a break?" I asked taking a few of them out.

Terra laughed at me, "Well it means one thing."

"What's that?"

"Master Xehanort was right." He told me as we continued to fight off all the baddies. I shuttered at the thought that it couldn't be just a coincidence. Xehanort knew more than he was telling us. We quickly took out the rest of the Unversed. The sound of footsteps made the two of us turn around. Xehanort was walking into the town.

I growled, "What is Xehanort doing here?"

"Maybe he found something out." Terra defended thought looking at me confused.

"Maybe."

Terra grabbed hold of my hands, and forced me to look at him. I smiled to let him know everything was alright. He smiled back at me, kissing my forehead, before dragging me off through the town. In the town, we met an elderly wizard named Merlin that let Terra read from a book that was said to make the reader strong. Though I told Terra he was strong enough, he insisted upon reading the book anyways.

Terra and I continued to search the little town for a sign of Vanitas. However there didn't seem to be any. I lead Terra back to the main street of the town. The sky was starting to turn a darker shade of blue as we made our way back to the courtyard.

"So what now?" I asked him.

Terra shrugged, "It's getting late, maybe we should see if there are any hotels here."

I nodded as I watched three kids; a girl with blonde hair, a boy with red spiky hair, and another boy with silver, all about Ven's age running around.

"C'mon Noel, stay with Isa and me for a little longer." The red head called after the blonde girl as she ran towards the castle.

"Lea, I can't. I'm already late for dinner. Daddy's going to kill me if he knows I've been out again." she screamed back at him.

I laughed at them softly, grabbing hold of Terra's hand. He stared at me for a moment before leading me to Merlin's house. There we asked the old man if there was a place we could stay the night at. The wizard directed us to The Lion Heart Hotel. The two of us made our way there while the city began to light up. An older crowd was beginning to make their way out of the houses.

When we got to the Lion Heart, the manager greeted us with a bright smile. I handed her some munny and she gave us the key. Terra dragged me to the room, and practically fell asleep the moment he hit the one bed.

"I knew you were tired but goodness, Terra." I giggled at him.

He said something but it was muffled by the pillows.

"I'm sorry. What?"

Terra rolled over placing his arms behind his head, "I said, just shut up and come over here."

I rolled my eyes, kicked off my shoes, and sauntered over to his side. He smirked at me, as I lied down next to him. Terra wrapped an arm around my waist. I took my finger and traced his muscles as Terra drifted to sleep. Every now and then he would twitch slightly, saying that my tracing tickled. I just laughed and kept gliding my fingertips over his built chest.

Terra growled in frustration when I didn't stop. He swiftly turned me over in a single movement of the arm that was wrapped around me. Terra, who was holding himself up, smirked down at my shocked expression. I then glared at the male on top of me. He chuckled before leaning me down and kissing me. My arms wrapped around his waist and his neck. One of his hands moved into my hair. We continued to kiss until Terra began to unzip my vest.

"Terra…"

He shushed me, and then began to kiss me again, going down my jaw line and to the crook of the neck. I closed my eyes, letting the feeling of his lips cloud my mind.

"Terra…I…"

Terra lifted his head at the tone of my voice, "If you don't want this, then I'll stop."

I shook my head, "I want this….Terra, I love you."

He smiled, "I love you, too, Livia."

The next morning, I opened my eyes to see I was cuddled up next to Terra. A smile came upon my face when I noticed he was watching me. I shook my head, closed my eyes, and lied there next to him.

"What time is it?" I whispered to Terra.

"Around noonish."

"So we should probably get up."

Terra nodded, and the two of slowly made our way out of the bed. We took our time getting ready for another day of searching for clues of Vanitas. When we got outside of the hotel, we saw a giant Unversed floating through the town. Terra and I looked at each other and nodded. This Unversed was fast but we followed it closely, until we made it to some rooftop in a distant part of the town. I turned around to see Aqua and Ven coming up behind us.

"Ven! Aqua!"

"Ven!" Aqua and Terra yelled.

"Terra! Liv! Aqua!" Ven yelled.

_That was weird._ I looked up and summoned Oathkeeper. The other three also summoned their Keyblades as they saw three, very large, Unversed coming towards us. We grew more defensive as the three Unversed turned into one big Unversed. We quickly learned that we had to take out the other two Unversed before we could destroy the head. When it was just the head left, the four of us got in formation. Myself and Aqua attacked first and then came Ven and Terra. The Unversed faded into a black smoke. The four of us walked over to the center of the area.

"We make a good team." Aqua told us.

"Ya we do." I replied.

"Oh yeah!" Ven shouted, we all turned to look at him. "I got you these tickets."

He pulled out four tickets that read 'Disney Town Passport'.

"For what?" Terra questioned.

"Lifetime passes to Disney Town…He said to – He said to take two grown-ups and a friend."

"Us?"

The three of us older Keyblade wielders laughed. Until Aqua had to ruin it saying that she had to take Ventus home.

"It's okay, Aqua. Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. He'll never bad-mouth Terra again." He told us.

I watched in shock as Terra grabbed hold of our youngest friend and questioned him about Vanitas. Ven was slightly scared by the reaction he got from his friend, but was more shocked when Terra told him to let Aqua take him home. I tried to defend Ven by saying if he made it this far he would be fine on his own. Terra shook his head.

"We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want him to get hurt." Terra said to me.

"And what is this dangerous task, Terra? It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do." Aqua asked.

"It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the darkness." Terra retorted.

Aqua looked at us in disbelief, "I'm not so sure. I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done. You shouldn't put yourself and Livia so close to the darkness."

"Listen to yourself. I can handle myself against the darkness. Terra—"

"You mean you've been spying on me?" Terra said angered, "It that what he said to do? The Master's orders?"

"He was only…" Aqua began but didn't finish.

"I get it."

Terra turned to leave but was called back by Ven and myself. He kept walking away telling us he was now on his own.

"Terra, please! Listen! The master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried."

She had more to say but my Keyblade was at her throat. Aqua stared at me in shock.

"How dare you!" I screamed at her.

She jumped back from me as Ventus grabbed hold of my arm to stop me from killing her. Ven was just as mad I was at her.

"You're awful Aqua." He said.

"So now you two know the truth. But the Master loves Terra and you both know that."

"Were you ordered to take Ven home as well?" She couldn't answer me. "You've let being a Keyblade master, go to your head."

Ven pulled me away from her. "Let's go find Terra."

I nodded and the two of us ran off in the same direction Terra had left in. When we got to the courtyard we saw a young boy surrounded by Unversed. It was strange how the dark creatures didn't scare him. After the Unversed were defeated, we heard a man calling for someone. The little boy from before came up from behind us. The man thanked us for saving the boy and was able to give us some information on where Terra went. We followed the path until we spotted Terra.

"Terra! Take us with you."

Terra looked at me and shook his head, "I can't do that, Ven."

"Why not?" I asked him.

Terra grabbed hold of my hand, "I just…When I really need you, both, I know you'll be there."

I wrapped my arms around his waist, "Why wouldn't we?"

"You're our friend."

Terra smiled at us, "Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Ven…Livia."

He gave me a quick kiss before hitting his guard and flying of through the portal. We stood there looking off into the sky. Ven grabbed my arm and dragged me back to Aqua. I stood there quietly as the events unfolded before me.

"Aqua."

"Were you able to find him?" she asked Ven.

"Yeah, but…he's gone."

"Right, then I can't stay here."

"Let me go with you, Aqua."

"No, Ven. Do as I say and go home."

Ven looked down, "Why won't you let me."

"I don't' want to put you in harm's way. You understand?"

Ven didn't move for quite some time. Then he moved over to the wall and sat down. I had completely zoned out by the time the two boys from yesterday appeared. Ven played with them for a bit before they had to leave. I walked over to my young friend.

"It's time to go."

He shook his head, "I don't want to go home."

I laughed and bent down to his level, "Who said I was taking you home?"

Ventus got a huge smile on his face, "You mean…"

"That's right, we have worlds to explore. You ready?"

"Always."

I smiled, as the two of donned our armor, heading off to the next world that awaited us.


	9. Disney Town and Olympus

Ventus and I had agreed that we should see this Disney Town place before we went anywhere else. We walked through the town until a really fat pig jumped in front of us.

"Wearin' the mask of peace and hope…comes the fearless defender and hero of this town! It is me – Captain Justice!"

"What…" I muttered.

"Young people! Do my hero-senses detect that you got troubles? Just say the word and Captain Justice will make all your problems disappear!" he called at the top of his piggy lungs.

I began to back away as Ven just said he wanted to make friends. I grabbed hold of his shoulder and smiled. He got my message and responded with a smile. Captain Justice continued to talk about some vote.

"Why don't you tell us about your town?" I asked him.

Ven nodded, "Everything is so festive. Is it always like this?"

"Huh? That's it – nothing else? Well, the festivities are on account of the Dream festival – which is why I've made sure there's carnival stuff all over town."

Ven's eyes brightened, "Really like what?"

Captain Justice just laughed, "If I told you it wouldn't be much of a dream, now would it?"

"Thanks," I told him.

"And don't go forgettin'… Captain Justice is the one who solved all your problems….Hehehe…That would be Justice with a J."

"Um…Sure." _ How else do you spell it?_

Ven and I looked at each other, trying to figure out while this guy was so concerned with voting. I shrugged when a new voice came to our ears.

"Aww, phooey! This stinks! Now we can't open the ice cream shop!"

I turn towards the voice and see three small ducks, and a very dressed up mouse…like she was a queen. Which meant only one thing. I turned in every direction until I spotted it.

"Oh look, this makes the fifth world I've been to on this journey that has a castle." I muttered. "Stupid castles."

Ven looked at me strangely but then his attention of taken by the Captain Justice who ran off to help the small animals.

"Let's go make some friends, Ven." I said.

He nodded and we walked over towards then small group. The five of them turned to look at us.

"Well if it ain't the last kids Captain Justice saved. 'Fraid you'll have to get in line. I'm working on another catastrophe here for these fellas – Huey, Dewey, and Louie, my good friends." The captain said while each little duck turned at their name.

The queen looked at him, "Now, I'd hardly call it a catastrophe."

"Yeah, all we were tryin' to do was make our own special recipe ice cream," Huey said.

"And we had a little trouble," Dewey continued.

"Come on, it's not really that big a deal." Louie continued.

The captain looked at all of them, "I'm 100% positive you're the victims of sabotage."

"I really don't think that's it." I chimed in.

"She's right, quit makin' stuff up." Dewey agreed.

"It's just the ice cream machine," Louie started.

"Unca Scrooge left it for us…but we can't figure out how it works 'cause it's so complicated," finished Huey as we all turned to look at the strange contraption.

Dewey turned to the queen, "We're sorry, Queen Minnie. We wanted you to be the first to try our special recipe ice cream."

"Oh boys, it was very sweet of you to think of me." Minnie replied.

"We tried," Louie said sadly.

I wanted to give the sad little duck a hug. It was just too cute.

"Say no more. Leave it to me—on bowl of ice cream comin' right up!"

"You're just gonna make a mess." I told him.

"Leave it alone, Pete!" Dewey yelled at him.

"That's Captain Justice!" he said stomping the ground making the ducks fly into the air.

We stood there and watched as "Captain Justice" tried to fix the machine. Eventually there were tons of scoops of ice cream all over the stage.

"Ohhh, this machine is busted. It just needs a good poundin…" he said banging on the ice cream machine.

"It does not!" Queen Minnie shouted at him.

"Hey, do you think I could give it a shot?" Ven asked quietly.

The captain turned towards my friend, "No, if Captain Justice can't fix it, there ain't nothin' you can do, kid."

"Maybe not," I stated, "But there's no harm in him trying."

Ven smiled at me as Huey said that it would be better Ven than the captain. He handed Ven the directions and he got to work. After he got the ice cream machine to work, we each got a scoop. I help mine up and then looked at the queen before giggling, they looked the same. The queen then thanked Ventus and myself. We sat there and talked about how the captain was really a troublemaker named Pete, and he was trying to get votes for the Million Dreams Award. They explained to us that the award went to the town's most exemplary citizen. We laughed and enjoyed the time we had with them before we headed off towards the next world.

The next world we landed in was a little different than the rest. Sand covered the ground, and the town we were in had an ancient feel to it. We walked around looking for any signs of Unversed. A small goat man ran past us and into a corner.

"Oy, the kid's relentless!" it said.

Ven and I approached it, "Whatcha doin' there?"

The goat man screamed and turned around, "I told ya, I'm booked solid. N-O spells forget it!"

"No it doesn't" I retorted.

"Huh?" it realized we weren't the person he had been trying to hide from, "And who in Halicarnassus are you? Can't you see I'm busy?"

We looked at him confused.

"Hey, Phil!" came a very loud, very annoying voice. We turned to see a young man with red hair come running towards us. "I'm all signed up! Phil!"

"All right, Herc, I hear ya! Now would ya keep it down already?" Phil said barely above a whisper.

"Aha!" came yet another voice.

I turned to see another young man running towards us. The boy had on a helmet that covered most of his face.

"Beautiful…You happy now? You blew my cover!" Phil yelled at Herc.

The soldier came up to us, "Okay, 'fess up. I asked around, and everybody says you're the guy. The trainer of heroes!"

"True heroes!" Herc countered.

"Really?" Ven asked. "You can teach that?"

The soldier got closer to Phil, "'Course he can. C'mon, Phil, please. I really wanna be a hero."

"Look, we've been through this…I got two words for you – student-teacher ratio."

Ven began to count on his fingers.

"That's three words." I chimed.

Phil ignored me, "I already got my hands full with this one. C'mon, Herc."

The two of them begin to walk away but a group of Unversed appeared. Ventus and I ran up, Keyblades in hand. We fought off the Unversed with the help of the soldier and Herc. Not like we needed the help thought. After the fight, Phil decided that he would decide who he would train by how each of the boys did in their matches in the games. Ventus was so excited about the games but then disappointed when the soldier took the last spot. Herc was sad that he might lose his trainer because of these matches. Ventus and I introduced ourselves and offered to train him. He liked the idea and ran off to the vestibule.

After the training we all decided to go rest in the front area.

"Hey, Herc, why do you want to be a true hero so badly?" I asked him.

"Well, my father is Zeus, King of the gods up on Olympus." He explained.

Ven's eyes got big, "Whoa! Herc, you're a god?"

He shook his head, "No, no. I'm mortal. When I was a baby, somebody stole me from my parents, and…they figured out how to take away my godhood."

"So being a true hero…"I said starting to put the pieces together.

Herc nodded sadly, "It's the only way I can become a god again. If I become a true hero, I can rejoin my father and go back to Olympus."

"Wow…I guess you really got your work cut out for you." Ven told him.

"So what about you two? How come you're here?" he asked us.

"I'm…I'm just trying to make some friends." Ven replied. I nodded.

"Well, hey! You've done that already."

I turned my head to the side.

"C'mon, we're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah."

Few seconds after the soldier and Phil joined us.

"All right, you bunch of rookies. It's time we go over the rules of the Games, so listen up. All the matches are divided into two brackets-one for the East and one for the West. The winners from each bracket go head-to-head in the championship match. Now, I signed you two up for the West...'cause they already got a heavy-hittin' contender cleanin' up over there in the East bracket. And if you wanna beat him, you're gonna hafta hustle in there. Now move those sandals." Phil explained.

"Heavy-hitting contender?" Ven asked.

"Think it could be, Terra?" I questioned him.

Before he could respond, Hercules called us to the matches. The matches went great. Herc and the soldier were cleaning up until it was the two of them left. Phil made it obvious before the final match that he didn't like that Ven and I had help Herc train. When Herc and the soldier began their fight it reminded me of the fight between Terra and Aqua. Phil ran in telling us that the Unversed were at the front door. Ven and I let the two heroes-to-be continue their battle as we went to fight the monsters.

We were surrounded by Unversed when Herc appeared.

"Herc! What about your match?" Ven asked.

"Forget the match. No way I could let my friends fight alone. 'Cause I'm a hero! I mean, ya know…I'm gonna be one." He retorted.

"Come on, boys." I yelled at them. "Let's finish this."

After the Unversed were destroyed the young soldier appeared, mad that we didn't wait. He claimed he was late because he doesn't run very fast. We laughed and then tried to figure out who the winner was due to both of them throwing the match. Then Phil showed up, saying that he was going to train Herc because he came out first. The soldier, who then decided to introduce himself as Zack, was ad but wasn't' going to give up that easily. Phil thanked us for fixing Herc's rut.

"Ven…it's time to go."

"Yeah alright."

"You're leaving?" Herc asked.

"Yeah, our journey's not over yet." Ven replied.

"But you'll visit right?" he questioned.

"We'll stop by once you're a true hero." I told him with a smile.

Zack joined our group, "Stop by once me and him are both heroes!"

"Oh, so you mean never come back?" Ven stated.

"Hey watch it!"

The five of us began to laugh. Me and Ven headed back to the arena, so we could open the Lanes.

"Ven."

He looked at me, "Ya, Livia."

"I'm going to go find Terra."

"Uh…so what do you want me to do?"

I wrapped my arms around him, "Do what you want. Go make as many friends as you can. Only go home when you're ready."

Ventus smiled up at me as we hugged, "Thanks sis."

"Welcome little bro."

With that we took our separate routes.


	10. Deep Space

I was traveling the Lanes alone now. I went a separate way from Ventus to go looking for Terra. I was about to land on a new world when the tail end of my glider went upwards. I looked back and saw that a large ship was hovering above me. It was sucking my glider straight into its large hull. When I stopped moving, I quickly deactivated my armor and hid behind a space craft. A large walking shark thing came into the room.

"I could have sworn we had found another creature like the one from earlier." He paced around before running off.

"One before…who else is here?" I whispered to myself.

I wondered around the ship until I found a what seemed to be a holding container. The large shark and a long legged creature were looking into a cell. I looked at the area and saw a group of Unversed appear. The shark and strange creature ran quickly not even taking notice of me.

"Awesome…well at least there isn't a castle." I muttered.

A bright light blinded me for a moment. Then Terra was before me. I decided to let my friend take care of the Unversed. When he was done he turned around, seeing me waving at him.

"Livia…when did you get here?" he said coming over to me.

"Right before the Unversed appeared." I told him.

Terra looked at me for second, "You could've helped."

I shrugged, and wrapped my arms around his neck, "I didn't feel like."

Terra laughed, lowering his head to kiss me gently. When we pulled away I laid my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Liv…"

"Don't worry about it."

"But…I…"

"Very impressive display," came a strange voice.

We looked over to see a heavy set creature talking to us from inside a cell. I grabbed Terra's hand and dragged him away.

"Wait! You help? I have been imprisoned on ridiculous charges!"

"Is that so?" Terra asked stopping pulling me backwards.

"I am innocent scientist," he began as we turned towards him. "Who created galaxy's most destructive—uh…constructive species of all times. Why, my experiment could annihilate creatures you fought so hard! He is bulletproof, fireproof, and can think faster than supercomputer. He can see in the dark and move objects 3,000 times his rather diminutive size. And for reasons preposterous, the Federation Council fears him. They take him away from me and throw me here in small, stuffy, rather badly lit cell."

"Because he's so powerful?" I questioned.

"Exactly. Everyone always get antsy in pantses when somebody more powerful is in the neighborhood. You understand, perhaps?"

Terra and I looked at each other.

"We must make to rescue him, or he'll be banished to far reaches of space!"

"What do you think, Terra?" I asked him.

"Okay then. Take us to him." He said answering both the creature and me.

The creature made his way towards us after we unlock the cell, "Experiment 626. Is name I give to adorable, fluffy creature you are helping for to rescue. And I am genius scientist who created him, Dr. Jumba Jookiba."

"I'm Livia, and this is Terra," I introduced.

"Pleasure is all ours. 626 is this way. Hurry!"

The three of us made our way through the ship. Terra kept looking at me with a sad face. I grabbed his and smiled. He smiled back but it had no meaning to him. We passed through a transport that took us to the containment center. A small blue creature with six legs and antennas was growling from inside the container.

"Amazing, is he not?" Jumba asked, "Such tremendous power in such itty-bitty package. Truly, he is the one and that's the only—the mightiest creature in all of galaxy. And his only, singular instinct – to destroy everything he touches! See?"

"What!" Terra and I wondered.

Jumba release the field and 626 happily jumped from the floating platform to Terra's arm. It ran around Terra and then jumped to me doing the same thing before flinging himself onto the ceiling. Dangling from one of his many hands was our Wayfinders.

"When did you—"Terra checked his pockets then growled, "Give that back."

"Too late, is already marked for destruction." Jumba said.

"No stop! My friends gave me that!" Terra said looking at the floor sadly. 626 stopped moving and stared to our sacred trinket.

"'Friends?' Are you joking?" Jumba laughed, rolling on the floor. "Such concept is totally lost on 626."

I watched as 626 looked at the Wayfinders before throwing them down and running away. Terra walked over to them, picking them up.

"Funny…This whole time I've been telling myself I want to be stronger, more independent…" he explained to me handing me my Wayfinder, "But the second I let my heart do the talking…I find out how little I really know myself. And how much I miss you all."

I pulled Terra into the biggest hug I've ever given him. He wrapped his arms around me, not wanting to let go. "That experiment of yours…You sure about him? Maybe, in his heart, he wants friends just like the rest of us." Terra told Jumba still holding me.

I turned in Terra's arms so I could see the doctor as he explained how 626 had no emotions, only destructive instincts. He pulled out a green marble and dropped it in a beaker of water that he magically made appear. The beaker glowed and out came a creature that shot lightning around the room. The creature was rather difficult to defeat due to the lightning it produce and how it would go inside the machinery in the room. However, when it was defeated, it turned back into its original marble shape.

"Oh…you'll be all right, little one." Jumba told his little marble.

We walked over to Jumba, with 626 walking up behind him.

"What is it? Why have you returned?" Jumba asked him.

626 made a very angry sounding noise. I grabbed Terra's hand and dragged him towards the small, blue creature.

"Maybe he's wondering what a friend is." I offered.

"Ridiculous!"

I ignored him and got on my knees in front of 626 resting my hands on the floor, "This is Terra."

"Ter…ra," the creature said with a slight growl with his r's.

I nodded, "I'm Livia."

626 looked at me, "Liv…i…a."

"Yes." Terra chimed in, "We can't explain friendship. When you feel it, you'll know it."

"Not if I have any say in matter! You are only meant to think about what it is you will destroy next." Jumba said, "Now, I fix what is wrong with you."

626 screamed at the doctor, when suddenly an alarm goes off.

"Red alert. Red alert. Experiment 626 and three prisoners have escaped from the cell bay. Security, locate the fugitives immediately. Repeat. Experiment 626 and three prisoners –," came a voice over an intercom system.

"Hey, I was never in prison." I yelled at the system while 626 and Jumba ran away.

Terra laughed, "Well, we can't stay here and get caught."

I nodded and we donned our armor before going through the lanes.

"I'll find some way to make things right." Terra whispered to his Wayfinder.


	11. Neverland

While we glided to the next world, Terra told me about his time alone. He had been to the same world as Ven and I but had just missed us. He told me how he had learned things that were helping him fight the darkness. I told him I was proud of him as we began our descent to the watery world. When we landed, we noticed a short, stout man and a rather tall, red covered man holding a rapier. Both were guarding a treasure chest, and surrounding them were a number of Unversed.

"What are they, Cap'n?" the stout one asked.

The tall one ignored the other man, "Back! You'll not get me treasure!"

Terra was one step ahead of me. He was already running towards them ready to fight.

"Leave them to us!" he told them and they ran off.

Destroying the Unversed was becoming a rather annoying task. Especially now that there were these gorilla and totem pole looking Unversed. When they started to jump at me, I would hit them like a baseball, sending them over the cliff. It was fun, and when Terra joined in we turned it into a little game. Soon we were all out of enemies…for the time being.

"If I'd desired your assistance, I'd have demanded it," called the captain as he and the other one came back. "We had the situation under control. Isn't that right, Smee?"

"Oh yes, Cap'n. Completely. We woulda cleaved those fiends to the brisket, we would. Why, I'd have given 'em a little of THIS – and THIS-," Smee agreed showing the 'THIS' he would have given the Unversed.

The captain got closer to us and the chest, "And don't think your efforts mean you'll get a share of me treasure. Understand?"

I glared at him, "We're not interest in your precious box, Captain."

"We're looking for a person. A boy, wearing a mask." Terra told them. "Ring any bells?"

The captain turned around and walked off, "Not a one. Smee! Ye blithering barnacle! We're off. We shall leave this place before the light draws 'em back."

Terra called him back, asking him about the light. The captain explained to us that the chest was filled with light from all over. Also that there was a boy, who was trying to steal it named Peter Pan. Terra then offered us up for babysitting duty for him. We then had to carry the chest to a place called Skull Rock. Terra grabbed on end and I grabbed the other.

"I should make you carry this yourself, you know?" I told Terra as we hauled the chest across the island.

Terra playfully glared at me, "Yeah, yeah, I know. But hey, at least it's light."

"Very true. I wonder what's in it."

"Who knows?"

Terra and I shared a look, "Oh no, no, Livia."

"C'mon Terra."

He looked at me thoughtfully. Then he shook his head, and continued to walk, dragging me behind him. I rolled my eyes and tried to catch up. Even with my long legs, it was a difficult task. We made it to the cove and loaded ourselves unto the small row boat. The Captain and Smee greeted us at Skull Rock. Though they didn't stay very long, after Smee mentioned a shooting star that was still shining after landing. We stood there and waited for the infamous Peter Pan to show his face. But no one appeared except a boy with red hair and covered in green that was flying above us.

"Are you Peter Pan?" I asked.

"That's me!" he replied.

"The light is not yours to take!" Terra called to him.

The fight was fair, even though it was one versus two, the fact that Peter could fly put Terra and I at a slight disadvantage. If it wasn't for our combo attack that launched me into the air, we wouldn't have been able to take him out. It finally came out to be a drawl.

"What do you want with the light?" Terra asked.

"Light? What light?" Peter asked.

"Look Pan! We got the chest!" a young boy voice rang out in the stone cold environment. Two young boys, one dressed like a bear and the other one dressed like a fox. In their tiny hands were the handles of the chest as they ran off.

"Hey!" Terra called out to the young boys.

Terra and I ran after them. They tried to run faster but ended up tripping and spilling all the treasure.

"That hurt!" the fox complained. The bear apologized sincerely.

I looked at the gold, "Now, what do we have here?"

Peter or Pan as the animal cloaked kids called him came over to him, "Well, that's pirate treasure, o' course. Jewels, doubloons – ya know the usual stuff."

"We've been guarding a pile of loot?" Terra said balling up his fists.

"Sounds like you've been tricked."

"I'll say…We owe you an apology." I told Pan.

"Right, we picked a fight over nothing." Terra agreed.

Pan shrugged it off, "Aw, it was all in good fun. Besides, not every day I get to fight such a good swordsman….and swordswoman. Say, what's your name, anyway?"

"I'm Terra and this is my girlfriend Livia."

I stared at Terra, "Since when do you introduce me as your girlfriend."

Terra smiled at me sheepishly, while Pan chuckled, "Right then, Terra, Livia. Which way did Hook go?"

I looked back at Pan, "They said something about a shooting star…"

"Shooting star? Tinker bell must be in danger!" Pan turned to the boys, "Slightly," he looked at the fox, "Cubby," he looked at the bear, "guard that treasure with your lives!"

And with that Pan flies off.

"Aye-aye, sir!" Cubby called.

"You go an' get 'em, Pan!" Slightly cheered.

"We should be on our way," Terra said pulling me out of the rock.

As soon as we made it outside, we ran back in due to the call from Slightly and Cubby.

"Slightly, Cubby get back." I told them, drawing my Keyblade.

In front of us was a swarm of maybe a hundred jellyfish like Unversed. The Unversed were quick little buggers. We threw ourselves into the attack. We cleaned out the cave, after a long amount of time. Our two young friends came running back into the area.

"Boy, you sure cut that monster down to size!" Slightly exclaimed.

Terra shushed them, as Hook's voice called to us from outside. We told the boys to go hide. Hook came in and showed us that he had captured Tinker Bell, who turned out to be a small girl with wings. She was trapped inside an oil lamp. I asked if I could take a look at her, and he handed it to me. When his back was turned, I opened the lamp letting the winged girl free. Hook drew his rapier and we drew our Keyblades. Then came a ticking sound. Hook froze, turning slowly and saw a rather large crocodile, that smiled devilishly at him. The captain screamed and took off running.

"Hooray! We sure showed Hook this time!" Slightly cheered as he and Cubby came out from hiding.

I hummed softly, as Tinker Bell lit up the cave with her glow. It reminded me of our last night with all our friends. A tear slipped from my eyes, and Terra quickly whisked it away. I kissed his cheek, and smiled.

"Aww," Cubby groaned, "so much for the pirate treasures…"

Slightly hung his head.

"Did you guys really want the jewels and gold that badly?" I asked.

The boys turned to us, "Nah, we don't care about that stuff."

Cubby shook his head, "Uh…but, uh, Pan was countin' on us."

Terra kneeled down in front of them, placing a hand on his on Slightly's shoulder, "I'll tell ya what – put the stuff that's really special to you in there."

I leaned against Terra, "And that can be your treasure."

The two boys cheered.

"Real swell idea, thanks!"

The boys picked up the chest and headed off. Terra stood up and hugged me to him. I smiled and nuzzled my head against his chest.

"Kind of makes me wonder – what I'd put in there." Terra pondered aloud to me.

"Same here, love, same here."


	12. Destiny Island

In this chapter you will get to meet my character for my Riku/OC story that I'm working on and if you were wondering why in Chapter 4 Enchanted Dominion Maleficent said eight hearts of pure light instead of seven, then you'll also get your answer. Enjoy. Also I'm debating over doing a Ventus story but I'm not sure yet. If you think I should message me and give me some ideas for her name.

Terra and I were traveling the Lanes when a bright light came into view. It was so warm, so inviting. I told Terra that we should see where it takes us. He agreed and let the glider glide its self. When we landed, we were on a fairly forested island around dusk. Terra guided me to the edge of the water. _It's so peaceful here. _ Something caught my eyes floating in the water. It was a little yellow star fruit. I bent over and picked it up as Terra pulled out his Wayfinder to compare.

"_Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit…"_

Terra turned his head to look for our blue haired friend. But she wasn't there. I looked around and spotted the tree. It was sitting on a little island connected to the one we were standing on by a wooden bridge. I turned back to the sunset and was surprised when Terra threw me onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he carried me through the little shack that lead to the small island.

"Do you think…" Terra started to ask me. "Do you think we'll ever be a team again…You, me, Aqua, and Ven?"

"I think so." I whispered into his ear.

"I mean it feels like all the things that once held us together just push us further away. And now the light leads us here. What are we supposed to do?"

I shook my head against his back, "I don't know, Terra."

He nodded as we began our journey across.

"Hey, slow down! Would you just wait for me?"

I turned my head and saw three little kids running past us, two boys and a girl.

"Giving up already? Come on, Sora," said the little boy with silver hair.

"That's enough, I can't run anymore!" the boy with brown hair panted.

The three kids sat on the curved tree that held the star-shaped fruit. The little girl with the long brown hair sat in the middle of the two boys. There was something about the little girl but I couldn't place it.

"Light." Terra muttered.

"Hmm," I said turning to him.

"Were we guided here in order to meet that boy." He continued.

My eyes went to the boy with silver hair. Light radiated from the boy. But the light was too strong for him to be the only source. I looked back at the girl.

"Maybe he's not the only one…" I commented.

Terra nodded and grabbed my hand as we walked back through the shack to the sandy beach. We stood there and watched the sun set. I laid my head on Terra's shoulder as he pondered if this boy was the reason we were here. I turned by head and saw the brown haired boy walking past us. Not long after the other two came out of the shack. The little boy stopped, causing the little girl to stop with him.

"Hey. Did you come from the outside world?" he asked calmly.

"Huh? Why would you say that?" Terra questioned him.

"Because," the little girl piped up. "Nobody lives out here, and we know you're not from the main island."

I smiled, "Smart kids. So how about you two? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, my friends' dad took us out on the boat. This is where we like to play, but they won't let us row out here by ourselves, not till we get older." The boy explained.

"Must be hard, huh, being stuck in one place." Terra told him.

The little kids walked over to the edge of the water as the boy continued to talk, "I heard once there was a kid who left for good."

Before our eyes the boy was gone and a man with silver hair was in his place. Then he changed again but this time so did the girl. They turned to us and they looked like they could have been my age. I secretly admitted to myself that the boy was kind of good looking, and this little girl was going to grow up beautifully. When I blinked, the two were back in their small forms.

"So how did you get here, anyway?" the girl asked.

"Is there some reason you're interested in the outside world?" Terra answered with a question.

The boy turned back to the ocean, "Yeah. I wanna be strong one day. Like that kid who left. He went to the outside world—I bet he's really strong now. I know it's out there somewhere – the strength that I need."

"Strength for what?" I asked getting on my knees in front of Terra.

"To protect the things that matter." He told us with a large smile, "You know, like my friends."

"But Riku…you're already strong," she said poking him in the chest, "In there."

"I know Calla, but I have to be sure I can protect you," he replied. I smiled at the two of them. They reminded me of Terra and me.

"Outside this tiny world is a much bigger one." Terra said summoning Earthshaker.

The little girl came out from behind Riku and watched as Terra held the handle out to Riku.

"In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking…its wielder you shall one day be." Terra recited the special rights.

"And you will find us, friends – no ocean will contain you then." I continued looking at the little girl, "No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love."

I tucked the flower from my hair behind the little girl's ear, as Riku wrapped his hand around the handle of Terra's Keyblade.

"Riku! Calla!"

We all jumped and looked at the boy waving at his friends from the dock, "C'mon, hurry it up!"

Terra released his Keyblade and leaned closer to Riku, "You've gotta keep this a secret, okay? Otherwise, all the magic will wear off."

The two nodded. The little girl looked sad, "What about me?"

We turned looked at her, "How am I supposed to help?"

I smiled placing my hand on her shoulder, "Sometimes, your mind and heart is the greatest weapon you care. Inner strength over power. Always remember that."

Calla smiled at me, before grabbing Riku's hand and pulling him towards their friend. Then it hit me.

"Hey what was all that about?" the boy asked.

"Aw you know," Riku replied being very elusive.

"Know what? Why won't you tell me?" he tried to look around the other two at Terra and me. "Who are they – somebody you know?"

"Maybe." Calla said as they started to walk to the dock.

"Aw, there you go again! Just tell me."

"We really can't Sora. We've got to keep it a secret."

"Not with me you don't! I'm like the best secret-keeper in the world!"

"Nice try." Riku laughed.

"Aww. Riku! Calla! Come on!"

Terra smiled, "I still have things that I have to protect."

I turned to him, "Hey Terra, we missed another one."

He looked at me rather confused, "Another what?"

"Look at Calla. What do you see?"

His eyes widened as he saw what I had seen, "Her heart…it's…"

"Pure light."

We got ready to leave when Terra stopped me, "Well at least there's no castles."

I smiled and pointed over by the shack. Made of sand, was a tiny very descriptive castle.

"That doesn't count."

"Sure it does."

We started walking again to the other side of the island to make the portal, "What is your deal with castles, anyways?"

I shrugged, "Ever since you made me always play the princess in trouble when we were training, I started hating princesses and castles."

"So it's my fault."

"Exactly."

The two of laughed as we left the world.

We were gliding in the Lanes Between when a shooting star passed us…at least I thought it was a star.

"Ven?" Terra muttered.

Terra followed him until suddenly he shouted Xehanort's name and turned the glider around.

"Terra, where are you going?"

"Master Xehanort is calling for me."

I shook my head and threw my Keyblade into glider for before switching gliders.

"Livia, what are you doing?" Terra asked stopping to face me.

"I'm going to follow Ventus."

Terra just looked at me, "Why?"

I shook my head, "If you have to ask, then the answer will be lost on you." I turned my glider around and tried to catch up to Ven.

Though I couldn't completely catch up, I was able to follow his light back to our home. When I got there I saw the Master about to strike Ven. I jumped off my glider and blocked the blow.

"Master how could you?" I screamed at him.

"Livia," Ventus weakly muttered.

I smiled back to him, "He won't hurt you Ven. I promise you that."

"Step aside, child."

I glared at the Master, "I am no child, and I will not let you hurt my friend."

"Livia stand down. I have no other choice. Ventus can no longer exist…."The master said, "And if you stand in my way I'll have to strike you down."

Master Eraqus then attacked me. I held my Keyblade up.

"Livia! Ven!"

In a flash of light Terra was before me, "Master, have you gone mad?"

"Terra! I command you – step aside and take Livia with you!"

"No!" Terra yelled back at him.

Eraqus was shocked, "You will not heed your Master?" Terra shook his head. "Why do all my attempts to reach you fail? If you don't have it in your heart to obey…then you will have to share Ventus's fate."

Eraqus attacked Terra but he quickly blocked it. He kept attacking at both me and Terra until Ventus called for enough.

"Quiet!" Terra hissed at him.

I looked at Terra softly, "Terra…"

The master then attacked throwing the three of us back. While Terra and I landed on our feet as Ven slipped and rolled backwards. I picked him up while Eraqus charged for an attack.

"You were right."

I looked at Terra, whose eyes were closed. His body was beginning to radiate darkness.

"You may be my Master. But I will not … let you hurt my friends!"

"Has the darkness taken you, Terra?" the master yelled.

Terra threw his hand back and opened a portal, "Livia, take Ven and go."

"No I'm -." I tried to argue but he kissed me to shut me up.

"Just go." He said turning back to Eraqus. "I don't want you to see this."

I looked at him before I grabbed Ventus and ran through the portal, "Be careful." I was able to shout just before the portal closed.

When I came out of the portal, I was in the Lanes. I looked all around me but Ventus wasn't there. I pulled out my purple Wayfinder.

"Terra….Ven…Aqua…we'll figure this out. I know we will."


	13. Keyblade Graveyard

A light guided me to the Badlands. The desert covered world was hiding the secrets of this journey and I was going to find out what it was. I walked through the canyon the sand had created until I came to an area filled with Keyblades. _Didn't even know this was here._ I wondered through the pathways until I came across Terra and Aqua.

"I was stupid and helped Xehanort do it." Terra said and Aqua gasped.

"He tried to hurt Ven and me." I told them. They turned to their left and looked at me. "You only fought because you want to protect us."

I place my hand on his shoulder as he explained how Xehanort had set up everything to awaken the darkness in him. Terra told us how he was sorry and that we had all been right. But no longer would he go astray.

"What else is darkness but hate and rage? Xehanort is feeding the dark fires within you – making you fight." Aqua stated. "You'll go astray again. Tell me – how does that honor our Master's memory, Terra?"

Terra dropped his gaze from her. I was about to tell her that as long as we were with him, Terra would be fine; but Ventus was walking towards us.

He stopped when he got in front of us, "Xehanort wants me and Vanitas to fight, and make some kind of 'X-blade.' But the Master said we can't let that happen…and he tried to destroy me for it."

"X-blade?" I asked.

"I still don't know exactly what it is. But…it scares me to death. Even just the thought of it." Ven answered.

We surrounded our youngest friend telling him that we would take care of him. Ven continued to say that he may have to fight Vanitas anyways. I tried to tell him that everything would be alright but he shook it off. Ventus told us to…to put an end to him. We all gasped at the thought of one of us killing our friend. A tear slipped from my eye as the wind picked up. We looked out onto the horizon. Xehanort and Vanitas were walking towards us.

"Behold…These lifeless keys used to be full of power – united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat…as a great Keyblade War raged. Countless Keyblade wielders gave up their lives, all in search of one, ultimate key." Xehanort said. "And it will soon belong to me…X-blade."

I glared at him but he wasn't able to see it as a light surrounded the four of us. When the light disappeared, we were all in our armor. Ventus moved to attack, but Terra pushed him back towards me. Terra ran forward and Xehanort just smirked. He raised the terrain when Terra jumped making him slide across the dirt. The two evil doers lifted themselves over the height of their newly created plateau.

I looked up to see the sky getting darker, as Xehanort creates a cyclone of Keyblades. He directed them in our direction.

"Ven, Aqua, go." I shouted as I started to run.

The two of them weren't far behind me. A dark laughter met my ears, and I looked back to see Vanitas riding the cyclone. He came down and grabbed me before moving the cyclone to attack Terra. My eyes followed the Keyblade cyclone as it went after Aqua. I summoned Oathkeeper and stuck it into Vanitas's leg. He cried out in pain dropping me onto the plateau where his master was standing. I lifted myself off the ground, watching as Aqua save Terra with her barrier spell.

The barrier explode and set Terra flying towards me. When he landed, I ran over to him and tried to help him up. Behind Xehanort, Ven attacked but the dark man disappeared and reappeared behind Ven, grabbing his helmet.

"Ven!" I screamed still trying to lift Terra.

Terra angrily jumped up and attack. But the cyclone hit him dead in the chest sending him over the cliff. Vanitas jumped off the cyclone. I noticed the trickle of blood that dripped from his leg and laughed. He growled at me and charged. I blocked all of his attacks as he blocked all of mine. He was quickly backing me to the edge. I blocked his next attack, and he pushed down hard trying to force me off the edge. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ventus being dropped over the edge.

"Aqua!" I shouted.

"I got him!"

"Hahaha…how cute." I looked back at Vanitas. "Worried about the little brat?" he asked me pushing harder.

"Ventus is not a brat." I growled throwing him off me.

The clouds cleared leaving a bright light from a moon shaped like a heart. I pulled my helmet off, throwing it at Vanitas. The dark spawn attacked me again. The two of us kept fighting even while Xehanort and Terra talked.

"Admirably done. I knew this was journey you could make – over the unseen wall that divides darkness and light. And I was not wrong, Terra!"

Terra brought out Earthshaker, "What did you do to Ven?"

"Why, I did him a favor and freed the darkness inside him. Alas, poor Ventus never had the fortitude for such strenuous trials." Xehanort explained.

"You bastard." I screamed at him hoping to give Terra advantage.

My friend attacked the man but Xehanort blocked with ease. His head turned to watch the battle waging between myself and Vanitas. Vanitas was standing over me and has ready to give the final blow.

"Vanitas, save the girl for me. Go take what Ventus owes you. And take Aqua's life."

Vanitas then ran off towards the edge. Terra and I both tried to follow but Xehanort got in our way. Terra jumped back pulling me with him.

"You see how powerless you are to save them? Savor that rage and despair. Let it empower you!" Xehanort encouraged Terra.

"You will pay for this, Xehanort."

"Was my Master – no, my father, Eraqus not enough for you?" Terra asked. "Leave my friends alone!"

Terra started to begin being covered in darkness, "Liv, go help Aqua."

"No."

"Uh?"

"You are not getting rid of me this time. I'm staying," I told him grabbing his hand.

He smiled at me before turning back to Xehanort, "Let's go."

The two of us made a conjoint attack but Xehanort was quick. His teleporting ability was hurting us, but as we fought we got smarter. Terra would attack and I would try to pin point were Xehanort would go to. As he appeared, I would attack and most of the times I got a hit but sometimes I'd miss and get hit instead. Xehanort and I both fell to our knees at the same time. Terra came over to me and lifted me up. My breath was ragged but I smiled trying to convince him I was fine. The ground shook suddenly.

Xehanort's eyes widened, "There, you see."

Terra reluctantly turned around seeing a giant light protrude from below the cliff.

"The X-blade had been forge."

"Ven!" I groaned out.

"And now, Terra," Xehanort said standing up, "It is time for the final union."

We turned back around and saw Xehanort sticking his Keyblade into his heart.

"What?" Terra asked.

The old man smiled, "At last, our moment is here." The Keyblade dissolves and his heart moved out of his body, "Out with the old and brittle vessel, and in with a younger, stronger new one." Terra and I watched. "I swore I would survive…and be there to see what awaited beyond the Keyblade War! And now it is your darkness that shall be the ark that sustains me, Terra!"

Xehanort threw his heart at Terra. I hit his guard, summoning his armor hoping to save him from whatever awaited him. Terra threw me away trying to protect me. When the light vanished Terra didn't move and Xehanort's body had disappeared. I walked over to the body of armor, before falling over due to the pain from the last battle. I kept my eyes on Terra and piece by piece his armor fell off. He dropped his Keyblade.

"No." I gasped as I looked at the silver haired Terra.

"This heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it—it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came."

He opened his eyes, and stared at me. My attempt to save the man I loved had failed, Xehanort had succeeded in taking Terra's everything. Xehanort laughed at me and summoned his Keyblade. He made his way towards me. I used Oathkeeper to help me up. Xehanort looked around as the top of the cliff was surrounded in orange chains.

"What?" He turned from me and faced Terra's armor that had reformed, even though there was no body inside. "Your body submits, your heart succumbs—so why does your mind resist."

I stood up and made my way over to the empty armor, "When he used it, Terra's mind was his strongest weapon."

Xehanort growled and attacked. The armor and I blocked together. It hurt to move but I would do whatever it took to save Terra. The fight didn't last as long as it could have. It was almost like Terra was fighting back from the inside. As Xehanort lied on the ground unconscious, the armor places its Keyblade into the ground kneeling before it. I walked over to it and knelt before it.

"You did good, Terra." I said sweetly with a smile.

I felt like he could hear me, even if he wasn't there. The ground began to shake again and looking behind me I saw why. A huge shock wave of light was coming towards us. I grabbed hold of Earthshaker, praying I wouldn't go flying. As the light engulfed me, my mind flashed to pictures of Aqua…then Ven…and finally Terra. I opened my eyes to look at the armor one last time.

"I'll find you Terra." I whispered as the light swallowed us whole and my world went black. The last thing I remember hearing was Terra's voice.

"_Aqua, Ven….Livia, one day I will set this right."_


	14. The Search Begins

I woke up and looked around the room. I was at the tower that housed Yen Sid. The man himself was watching me along with a mouse.

"What happened?" I asked them.

"You lost consciousness. Fortunately, Mickey," he pointed to the mouse who waved at me, "found you, Aqua, and Ventus drifting in the Lanes Between, and brought you back to me to receive proper care. I am sorry, thought, but there was no sign of Terra."

"I know," I said looking down at the floor sadly.

I crawled over to Ventus who was still asleep and watched as Aqua awoke. After getting the same explanation for why we were here that I got, she tried to wake our sleeping friend.

"The boy's heart is sleeping." Yen Sid told us.

I looked at him, "When will he wake up?"

Yen Sid grew sad, "I could not say. It is almost as though his heart has left. Should it return, he may very well wake. Should it not, then he may sleep like this for all eternity."

Aqua and I gasped. I pulled Ventus to me protectively, "We'll keep him safe until he wakes up."

"I will tell you what you friend needs right now. It is not your protection. He needs you to believe. You see, Ventus's heart hangs in the balance. It sleeps in the place between light and darkness. From all I can perceive, that means he will be looking for a friend—one who believes in him to show him the way home. Just as long as you love him…the Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs—the realm of light." Yen Sid told us.

"Don't you two worry. I believe in Ven, too. Gosh, he's been as good a friend to me as anybody. And if all of us believe in him with all our hearts…well then he'll have three lights to follow instead of two." Mickey commented.

"Four lights." I said looking out the window, "Don't forget Terra."

"But…Terra's gone," Mickey said, "Maybe for good."

I shook my head, "I'll find a way to find him."

Aqua nodded, before picking up Ventus. She headed through the door.

"You coming, Liv?"

I smiled back at her, "Be there in a second."

She nodded and continued her way down the stairs. I turned to Yen Sid.

"Sir, is there a way to enter the realm between?"

Mickey and the old master stared at me shocked, "Why do you ask child?"

I looked at my Wayfinder, "I think if I can go into the realm, then I can pull Terra's heart out from the darkness, freeing him."

"But shouldn't destroying Xehanort due that?" Mickey asked.

"Not necessarily. Just because the heart inhabiting the body is gone, doesn't mean Terra's heart will be able to find its way back." Yen Sid said.

I nodded, "And while I'm there, I might be able to Ven's heart as well."

Yen Sid become thoughtful at this idea. He didn't respond for quite some time, "Alright, I will give you a potion the will put you into a sleep like Ventus's. But be warned, you may not be able to find your way back."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." I said as he handed me the blue potion bottle. I bowed to the man and mouse before me, thanked them and headed outside.

Aqua was standing at the bottom of the stairs waiting, "Ven needs a safe place to stay."

I nodded, and watched as Ven's summoned his Keyblade and opened a portal. Aqua and I looked at it before stepping through the Lanes. We arrived back home or I should say the ruins of our home. I walked forward and picked up Master Eraqus's Keyblade. I lead my friends inside the castle. We made our way to the throne room, where Aqua sat Ventus down in the center thrown.

"Aqua?"

"I'm following a request from Master Eraqus. It will help protect you and Ventus."

I looked at her, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to free Terra's body, Liv. I know you want to go but I won't risk you too."

I shook my head, "Its fine. One of has to watch over Ven."

She looked back at me, Keyblade in hand, "Why aren't you fighting me?"

I smiled, "Because you're right. Being near Xehanort will make me do irrational things. I love Terra, and I can't bear to see that yellow eyed demon controlling his body. You always were the most level headed out of all of us."

Aqua looked at me and smile before proceeding with the request. A bright light blinded me. When it subsided, the room was transformed. It was now white with light chains connecting the floor to the heart insignias on the wall. Ventus still sat on the throne.

"No one will be able to find you here. All who come will be lost to oblivion. Only we will know." Aqua said as she moved in front of Ven. "I know it's a lonely place, but you'll be safe with Livia here. Terra and I will be back to wake you up before you know it."

Aqua turned to me and hugged me, "I'll miss you."

I hugged her back, "And I you. Be careful, Xehanort is strong."

She nodded, "I'm sorry for some of the things I've said to you about Terra."

I shook my head, tears falling, "I know and I'm sorry I was so mean to you."

Aqua had some tears falling from her eyes, "I'll be back soon."

"We'll be waiting."

I watched as my friend left Ventus and myself alone in this new throne room. I laid the Master's Keyblade up against Ven's throne. Holding my own, I sat in front of the throne. I held Oathkeeper up and locked the door that lead to our resting place. Only a Keyblade would be able to open it. I downed the blue bottle that Yen Sid had given me. My body became weaker and weaker as I leaned my head back to look at Ven.

"I'll find you, Ven…and Terra. I promise you. I'll be your guiding light."

Ok well there you have it. The End….for now. I just finish playing Kingdom Hearts: Recoded, and it looks like if Square Enix ever brings out Kingdom Hearts III then we'll see Terra, Aqua, and Ventus make a comeback. So when that comes out I'll begin work on a sequel for this story. Thanks to all my readers and fans for liking the story. I can't wait to get the rest of my stories out. Hoped you liked it.


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